SAMA for the masses!

Since 2012 the museum has offered See Art Make Art (SAMA) tours to schools. The idea is as simple as it is self-explanatory: Students see art, and then they make art. Last Wednesday, as part of programming for the Spalding House exhibition HoMA SELECT, the museum opened SAMA up to the public for the first time.

“Ever since Spalding House became an ‘education-driven’ museum, the [SAMA] school tour has been one of our banner programs,” says Spalding House director Aaron Padilla. “With students and teachers scurrying around the museum ‘seeing and making’ each morning, the tour and related art projects are as visible to the public as the works of art in the galleries. It’s a way to show visitors—kids and adults—that art and education are very much connected, and a museum experience can be dynamic and interactive. So much, that visitors who see the SAMA school tours in action often ask if they can join in and make art too. It’s a request that we’ve talked about honoring over the years, and we’re finally making that happen.”

The program, called “See Art Make Art for the Masses,” is a spin-off of “HoMA SELECT: Natural Selection,” a biology-focused SAMA tour that has been offered to students since HoMA SELECT opened in November. No reservations are necessary—you can just show up Wednesdays through June 21. The tour is free with museum admission. All you need to do is SEE what ART on view in the exhibition inspires you, then head to the Spalding House classroom to MAKE animal shadow puppet ART out of paper. #SEEwhatwedidthere?

Teaching artist Dave Randall walked us through the “make art” half of the tour by creating a seahorse shadow puppet

”By focusing on animal forms, this program shows how art can be connected to the life sciences, and helps students understand how artists get inspiration from the natural world,” says museum educator Ryan Higa. “It is different from other SAMA tours in that the focus is on using individual pieces of art as both an illustration of scientific concepts and the inspiration for the creation of art.”

See Art Make Art for the Masses: Spalding House, 2411 Makiki Heights Dr. • Wednesdays, 10am-noon, through June 21. Free with museum admission.